Belfast, Northern Ireland

Belfast. This was kind of an interesting stop because we knew that we really wanted to see the north coast but we really had no idea of what the city had to see. The truth is it didn't really have a whole lot. Don't get me wrong, it did have a few nice buildings and a few things to see, such as the Titanic shipyards, but nothing compared to a Dublin or an Edinburgh.

We arrived on Wednesday morning by bus from Dublin. The bus trip, by the way, was a good decision - cheap, easy, and beautiful. Traveling on the ground in these parts is the best way to go - so much natural beauty. Once we got to Belfast, we had most of the day to explore and plan our next two full days. We went around the popular areas and walked down the river just into the shipyards where the Titanic and its sister ships Britannic and Olympic were built. The day was nice as we were able to walk and see and enjoy the uncommonly beautiful spring weather.

Belfast City Hall - built around 1900.

The Belfast Wheel


The Albert Memorial Clock Tower. It actually does lean four feet off the perpendicular due to the Farset River flowing under it.

The two Harland and Wolff shipyard cranes used in their day for building some of the biggest ships in the world at that time. Built in 1969 and 1974, Goliath and Samson stand 315 and 348 feet tall respectively.

The next day we hopped on board a tour bus that took us along Northern Ireland's north coast up to the Giant's Causeway. This was truly a great day. Apparently the Causeway Coastal Route is one of the top five coastal drives in the world. It was evident. The pictures we took are merely a glimpse of what it was like. We drove along the coast, making some stops every once in a while, for about three hours before we made it to the causeway. The Giant's Causeway is basically rock formations that were formed by flowing lava a long time ago. The rocks somehow are all hexagonal and are different heights and sizes. Very cool. We hiked along the top of the cliffs overlooking this part of the coastline and then went down along and into the rocks. We loved the couple of hours we spent here, taking dozens of pictures and just exploring and enjoying the wonder of it. It was really a fun and incredible experience; a great way to finish the UK and Ireland off.





The Giant's Causeway from the cliffs above


The causeway's pillar-like rock formation





Dunluce Castle. Built in the 1200s, it was struck by lightning in 1641, which gave it its crumbled state.

The Carrick-a-Rede ropebridge. 60ft long and 90ft high, it has been used by salmon fishermen for over 350 years.



Our last day in Belfast, we kind of bummed around, going into some stores and walking down the touristy streets. We then hooked up with a free Belfast tour in the afternoon. It was a good tour. The guide told us a lot about what Belfast was like in the past and what they are still going through today. We were somewhat familiar with the conflict that has happened, but this gave us a greater understanding of what it has been about. The division between British Unionist Protestants and Irish Nationalist Catholics was very clear and very intense. Twenty years ago, instead of walking down all these streets with people and shops, we would have been security checked going into the ghost town city centre and avoiding car bombs walking down the streets. Belfast was a scary place filled with people with a lot of anger and hatred. Our guide was clear to point out that it still exists today, to a certain extent, even though it has improved drastically.

According to us, our time in Belfast is done as we plan to fly to Paris tomorrow (Saturday). According to Mr. Volcanic Ash Cloud, we might be required to spend a little bit more time here. We're hopeful, and it's looking positively, that we will fly tomorrow. It's weird, though, that the UK is done. There is a clear division between what has happened and what is to come since now we are away from first language English speakers and relying on trains as our primary means of transportation. I think we're up for it.